Glitch in the System
by RecordxPlayer
Summary: The Light has prevailed. Good triumphed over evil. But as the world of Oz works to rebuild itself after the defeat of the Witch, what of those who were forgotten? One man must work through his past to pave a way to his future. Ambrose/Glitch/OFC
1. It began with a dream

He jolted out of bed with a start. _That dream…that dream_…it had left him filled with anxiety and desperation. What had it been about? He reached up absently to scratch the zipper on his head, brushing a hand on the dark curls that sprung out from beside it. Slowly he began to dress for the day, his hands still shaking, his body wound tighter than his watch's springs. In the core of his being he knew that something was terribly wrong. _It all had to do with that dream_…as he buttoned up his shirt he glanced around his room, only to find his eyes drawn to the golden puddle created by the sunlight reflected on his pocket watch. The queen had given it to him upon his return to the palace, stating that it had been his in the time before and she'd kept it safe for his return. In a flash it'd all come rushing back to him and he was running down the hall.

When he skidded into the sunny breakfast room he found the Queen and Ahamo calmly eating as DG, Az, Jeb, Cain, and Raw discussed their plans for the day. His abrupt entrance quickly cut the chatter as he hastily made his way to the table, slamming his hands down on its surface in his urgency.

"Where is she? Where is Coraline? What happened to her? My Coraline…My Coraline…My Coraline…" Cain slapped his shoulder as he began to glitch, stopping the repetition and leaving him breathing raggedly as he switched his frantic stare from one person at the table to another. Dg, Cain, Jeb, and Raw merely stared back in confusion and concern. They'd never seen him act like this. What was wrong? What could possibly frazzle their happy-go-lucky zipper head? His eyes flickered to Azkadellia. The minute he'd said that name, _Coraline_, her hand had flown to her mouth and her eyes had begun to tear. He switched his stare to the Queen.

"Ambrose…Glitch," she murmured, reaching a hand out to him, "I…I don't know. I'm sorry. I never even thought…" she trailed off, her lavender eyes never leaving his face. He tore his eyes from hers as Azkadellia removed her shaking hand from her lips.

"I do," she whispered, as tears poured down her cheeks, "I remember where she is."


	2. Searching for Memories

Thankfully the trip wouldn't be long and arduous. Although Azkadellia hadn't been in control of her own body, she had seen everything the Witch had done, and had retained the memories from her years riding along in her body as the Witch began to take control of the land. She'd assured her parents that Coraline's prison wasn't well guarded, and they had agreed that performing her rescue quietly was the best option. In the end, they had traveled with the princesses riding in a nondescript carriage driven by Raw while Cain, Jeb, and Glitch rode along on horses.

The two soldiers were quiet, constantly on the lookout for trouble as they rode, but Glitch was distracted. He was racking the remaining portion of his brain for memories of this Coraline. Although he had called her by name, in truth he couldn't remember anything about her. What did she look like? Was she his friend? His younger sister? His lover? He didn't remember. He especially didn't know why he had called her _my Coraline_, he only knew that he had to find her. His dream had lit a fire in his soul that would not be quenched until this girl was safe again. As he rode along he wished he had had a moment to ask the Queen or Azkadellia who Coraline really was. They had seemed to remember her quite easily when he had mentioned her name, but he was still only coming up with wisps of memory. _A flash of gold…the chime of the palace bells…steam rising from a bubbling beaker…the sound of a pen scratching on paper…his pocket watch…_ He let out a small groan. It seemed that every time he tried to concentrate on bringing up memories they just became more fragmented. Sometimes he missed the other half of his brain.

Suddenly, his mind jolted back to that last disjointed image. His pocket watch! In the mad dash to ready themselves he'd managed to grab it off his desk. He scrabbled through his pockets in a rush to see if it would give him any answers. Bringing it out, he held it before him dangling on the chain, watching as the sun beams caused it to glint and flash. Gently he brought it into the palm of his hand in order to examine it closely. Certainly he had looked at it when the Queen had given it to him, but at the time he had been so excited to once more be in the palace with Lavender Eyes back on the throne that he hadn't given it much more than a second glance since then. Now he examined its pattern in a way that, had anyone who had known him before were there to observe, would have been called his "scientist Ambrose" face. His dark brows furrowed as his eyes followed the swirling, smoke-like pattern that graced the front and back cover. His teeth worried his bottom lip as his brown orbs traced every line and space, and he realized it reminded him of the feeling he would get when he stared at the spiraling smoke of an experiment in his lab. It was a feeling of elation and yet at the same time of serenity. And as he stared and thought of spiraling smoke, he realized that in the background of this feeling…this memory…he once again heard the scratching of pen on paper.

Shaking his head at his inability to bring that memory more into focus, he opened the watch to examine the inside. The face of the watch was like any other; white background, black numbers and tick marks, and golden hands gently and resolutely following the time around the screen. It was the inside of the cover that made his eyes widen. There in small, delicate script was the inscription: _So you will always be on time - Coraline._ Admittedly, it didn't give him much to go off of. There was no "Love your little sister" or "BFF for life" or "With all my heart" and yet it was a start. It showed him that they must have meant _something_ to one another, for her to give him a present; it was just a matter of finding out _what_ that something was.

With his mind thus occupied, the three hour trip to the rocky hills located outside the city went quickly, and soon he found himself stopped in a shadowed clearing as the rest of the group dismounted. Above them on the hill's face could be seen the dark entrance to a cave. As he watched, he noticed the shimmer of a magical barrier covering the opening. The group gathered around their resident Tin Man, the most cautious and experienced of the friends, to figure out the plan.

"Raw, DG, and I will scout the area in a group to make sure there are no renegade longcoats in the area, and no left over spells or guards. Glitch, Jeb, and Azkadellia, you will stay here and watch the entrance of the cave for any signs," Cain detailed out the not so difficult arrangement. The group nodded their consent and the three remaining members settled themselves in the clearing as the scouting party slunk off into the surrounding trees.

"Az…" Glitch started off nervously, realizing that he might as well ask as they sat there waiting, "who was Coraline?" The look she shot him was full of surprise and confusion. He tapped his zipper in answer, a look of despair crossing his eyes although he managed to keep the wry smile painted on his face. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"She was my best friend," she murmured, explaining quietly as Glitch and Jeb listened, "and I think she was yours as well. She was a scribe for the Royal Court, but during her free time she used to help you in your lab, jotting down notes as you mumbled and rambled to yourself during an experiment because you used to say you 'couldn't be bothered to take the time to stop' and yet half the time you wouldn't have remembered what you'd done in the first place if it wasn't for her notes," she gave a small smile as she continued, "I really think she was the method to your madness. You were the genius scientist, but she was the one who made sure you didn't blow yourself up. She would get so frustrated with you!" at this she let out a small laugh, "One time she came storming into my room complaining about how boggling you were because she hadn't been there for one of your experiments. She'd come into the room to find you'd created this astounding device that would utilize sunbeams to paint pictures of different things on the surface of water and when she asked how you did it you'd responded with 'I don't know, I just did'." The two men smiled a little at this. Glitch tried to picture himself in that situation with this girl, this Coraline, yet couldn't. The memory just wasn't there. His smiled faded a bit and he looked up at the cave's opening. The fire in his soul roared and burned, demanding his action to undo the Witch's wrong. He couldn't wait any longer. It was time. He stood.

**A/N: Hello all. Thanks for reading. I don't know if anyone actually reads Tin Man fanfiction anymore but this idea has been scrambling my brain for the past few days and I had to get it out. I actually intended for them to find Coraline in this chapter but hey, when the muse takes you… Anywho, next chapter will be out shortly, probably by the end of the weekend. Any reviews are always welcome. As with any Fanfiction, I do not own any characters you recognize, I just like Ambrose-Glitch/OC **


	3. Cave of WonderOr Something Like That

Azkadellia and Jeb hadn't tried to stop him as he climbed the hill to the cave's entrance. He didn't bother to wonder why, but had he looked behind him he would have found Az holding the youngest Cain back, whispering in his ear. She knew, she remembered. This was something he needed to do. The climb wasn't difficult, to be sure. Just a short walk up a hill, except for that little part where he'd felt the need to scramble on all fours, knocking rocks and pebbles into gravity's pull. Nope, not hard at all.

He paused a few feet away from the shimmering opening. What was he about to find? Would she be bruised and broken, lying on the floor awaiting rescue? Would she be trapped inside the same type of iron coffin that had held Wyatt Cain prisoner for so many years? Azkadellia hadn't bothered to mention, and he hadn't bothered to ask. He gave himself a quick shake. This wasn't the time to panic or ponder. Whatever was waiting for him, she was there, and he would be damned if he allowed himself to chicken out and wait for Cain to fly to the rescue. This was his Coraline! Again he paused. _His Coraline_? He was really going to have to get that nonsense figured out once she was free.

Taking a deep breath he stepped up to the Witch's force field. The scene inside took his breath away. In the center of the spacious cave, surrounded by another bubble of magic, sat a large floor loom, where a woman sat feeding wool through the mechanics to create a bright and cheerful blanket. She may not have had a job as a typical model in their world, but she was certainly beautiful. Petite, yet proportional, she had long auburn hair which hung down her back unhindered by ribbon or tie. He could tell she was quite pale, and although he couldn't see her eyes from the distance, his memory gave him a flash of gold that completed her vision of perfection. _Coraline._ Suddenly she was staring at him, golden eyes flashing in the sunlight that streamed into the cave, and he realized that he must have spoken her name aloud.

* * *

She'd been weaving again. She was always weaving. What else was one to do when trapped in a cave? It'd been a while since the Witch had visited. Coraline had a feeling that her time of peace was going to come to a close soon. Her feelings never failed her. As if her thoughts had summoned it, she heard her voice whispered from the front of the cave. Ambrose, in all his glory, stood there at the Witch's barrier, staring at her. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she turned back to her loom work.

"You know," she called to the figure, "You taking to form of my beloved is really getting old. How about you try a new trick?" Stupid Witch. She thought she could break through her mental defenses if she took on Ambrose's face. Coraline wasn't stupid. She refused to fall for her trickery, especially since it seemed to be the only thing she was capable of holding against her.

* * *

Glitch was surprised to hear the woman, Coraline, call out to him. What had she said? _"You taking to form of my beloved is really getting old"_. What did that mean? Had the Witch often worn his face when she came to visit Coraline? And why had she called him her beloved? This was getting way too complicated. He wanted answers! With a grunt of annoyance, and not too much thinking ahead, he threw himself at the Witch's barrier.

* * *

She started into standing when the figure threw himself at the Witch's barrier, only to get chucked backwards violently. This was new. The Witch had never been one into acting. She was even more startled when suddenly the barrier was down. She had never removed the barrier before, only walked through it, to avoid any chance of Coraline escaping.

* * *

He was a little more than shocked (all though in hindsight he probably shouldn't have been) that the barrier had thrown him backwards so easily. His shock held as the barrier suddenly dropped. Looking down the hill, he noticed Azkadellia's magic floating back to her. Glitch gave her a quick thumbs up in thanks for removing the barrier and cautiously entered the cave.

The woman was standing in the bubble around her loom, eyes wide, as he entered. He noted her shaking hands, which she quickly clasped in front of her.

"Coraline?" he asked carefully.

"Stay back!" she demanded quickly, taking a step back from the magic barrier. "I know your tricks Witch, and you should know by now that you cannot break my wall. Leave me be!" Her eyes were wide, and her lips trembled a bit, but she stood her ground. For some reason he found himself proud of how strong she was.

"Coraline," he said again, a pleading tone infusing his words, "please, I'm here to help. The Witch is dead, there is no need to fear." She shook her head, refusing to believe. Their eyes locked in a battle for truth, neither of them noticed one of the guards running in from the back of the cave until

"Glitch!" came Cain's bellow of warning from the cave entrance. He ducked out of instinct and swung around to deliver a round-house kick to the guard's head. As his foot connected, he quickly came to the realization that these guards were not human. In fact, the throbbing of his foot said they were most likely made of rock. Cain's bullets echoed off the walls of the cavern but did nothing to the guards. The only impact they made was to shatter Coraline's water pitcher. The two men resorted to hand-to-hand combat, but the impervious nature of their assailants left them bruised and tired as the fight continued, Coraline looking on in horror from her bubble of magic. That is, until one of the guards got a hold of Glitch, beginning to squeeze the life out of him as Cain struggled with his own rock sentinel.

"Ambrose!" she screamed in terror, in despair. The occupants of the cave were forced to shut their eyes tight as a bright light infused every crack and crevice of the cavern, quickly followed by a heart stopping blast, one that shuddered down into every blood vessel and nerve ending. The two men stood in the dust of the decimated guards, looking around expecting DG or Az. Instead, their eyes were drawn to the woman in the center of the cave. She gave them a wry smile, and then promptly collapsed.

**A/N: Ok so once again I stopped before I had originally planned, BUT, he finally "met" Coraline. Next chapter up in the near future, hopefully. Thanks for reading, reviews always welcomed but are not a must. Mostly I just want to see you return for the next chapter!**


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